Riot!
- Thread starter Riotgrrl
- Start date
17lbs is a great start...
how long did it take you to get there -and what methods are you using?
What's your long term goal?
welcometo your diary
how long did it take you to get there -and what methods are you using?
What's your long term goal?
welcometo your diary
The Story... so far
I have struggled with my weight since the third grade, and quite frankly, I never stopped gaining weight except for brief periods my whole life through. At 246 I finally reached the point where I got pissed enough to take control of my life.
I had briefly considered getting a gastric band, but decided against it once I learned about long-term complications (like esophageal damage from years of reflux, friction damage to liver, slippage) and a high rate of "major re-operation," read: gastric bypass, and there is no way I am going to REMOVE my damn stomach to lose weight. I figured I am physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy enough to do this without that kind of intervention.
I always identified with people who stated they'd "tried everything to lose weight." But once I really got honest with myself, I realized that I'd been doing some things right, but I hadn't "tried everything." I used to just exercise, but then I'd be more hungry and eat more so I'd gain the muscle, not lose any significant fat, give up, and keep the extra, plus a few more from being used to eating more. There was one time when I lost 12 pounds in 3 months by jogging and eating white rice and frozen vegetables--you can guess why I lost interest.
So last year I was finally willing to admit that I MIGHT be eating too much--though compared to my friends I was eating the same. I went to mypyramid.gov and printed out some worksheets for an 1800 calorie pattern. I stuck to it for 4 months, lost maybe 15 pounds. I got a new job, lost track of my plan, but managed to keep it off for another 8 months. But then my Grams nearly died and was in the hospital for a couple months, during which time I gained half of that back.
Like I said, I was feeling pretty desperate and I thought my only hope was surgery. But ironically, surfing lap band sites and message boards I became immensely hopeful and inspired. So this time around I'm doing it all: food diary, portion control (this time a 1400 calorie pattern), almost no empty calories, 30-40 minutes of exercise six times a week switching back and forth from cardio and strength, and I'm varying my activities so it's actually a ton of fun.
I'm seeing great results and it hardly even feels like work. I'm moving into a sort of weird-looking phase where my round parts are starting to droop and they're real squishy, while my muscles are getting more defined. I'm losing fat in THE oddest places: fingers, feet, ankles, armpits, neck, and--thank goodness--face.
Now that I'm doing really good I want to get together some kind of support system and contingency plan for when life happens again, as it most assuredly will. I don't want to get depressed and gain any of this back.
17 down, 99 to go!
I have struggled with my weight since the third grade, and quite frankly, I never stopped gaining weight except for brief periods my whole life through. At 246 I finally reached the point where I got pissed enough to take control of my life.
I had briefly considered getting a gastric band, but decided against it once I learned about long-term complications (like esophageal damage from years of reflux, friction damage to liver, slippage) and a high rate of "major re-operation," read: gastric bypass, and there is no way I am going to REMOVE my damn stomach to lose weight. I figured I am physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy enough to do this without that kind of intervention.
I always identified with people who stated they'd "tried everything to lose weight." But once I really got honest with myself, I realized that I'd been doing some things right, but I hadn't "tried everything." I used to just exercise, but then I'd be more hungry and eat more so I'd gain the muscle, not lose any significant fat, give up, and keep the extra, plus a few more from being used to eating more. There was one time when I lost 12 pounds in 3 months by jogging and eating white rice and frozen vegetables--you can guess why I lost interest.
So last year I was finally willing to admit that I MIGHT be eating too much--though compared to my friends I was eating the same. I went to mypyramid.gov and printed out some worksheets for an 1800 calorie pattern. I stuck to it for 4 months, lost maybe 15 pounds. I got a new job, lost track of my plan, but managed to keep it off for another 8 months. But then my Grams nearly died and was in the hospital for a couple months, during which time I gained half of that back.
Like I said, I was feeling pretty desperate and I thought my only hope was surgery. But ironically, surfing lap band sites and message boards I became immensely hopeful and inspired. So this time around I'm doing it all: food diary, portion control (this time a 1400 calorie pattern), almost no empty calories, 30-40 minutes of exercise six times a week switching back and forth from cardio and strength, and I'm varying my activities so it's actually a ton of fun.
I'm seeing great results and it hardly even feels like work. I'm moving into a sort of weird-looking phase where my round parts are starting to droop and they're real squishy, while my muscles are getting more defined. I'm losing fat in THE oddest places: fingers, feet, ankles, armpits, neck, and--thank goodness--face.
Now that I'm doing really good I want to get together some kind of support system and contingency plan for when life happens again, as it most assuredly will. I don't want to get depressed and gain any of this back.
17 down, 99 to go!
Woman-pecs?
I swear! I can never find my thread in this list...
Anyway, so you want to hear more about my weird phase? Check this out--I have big knockers (praying they shrink but stay in the current proportion) and I have been doing lots of upper body toning by doing pushups against the wall and using one of those sproingy band do-dads with a handle on each end--totally love it. But yesterday after I'd worked out and I was getting into my jammies I noticed that I am getting PECTORAL definition in my cleavage! What the @#$%&?! Seriously!
I was wearing a tank top and I ran out to the other room to show my hubby: I hunched over just a little and started flexing and my bobbers jumped up and down, up and down. That's just about the funniest thing I've ever seen!
But really, while it's fun to see new muscles every day, I would really like to see the scale move. Obviously I'm losing fat--I can see it everywhere--but I'm gaining muscle at the same rate. When am I going to break through this holding pattern?? Am I going to stay between 228 and 230 the whole way and have to go into professional body building?? Jeez, lets go already.
I'm sure I'm being ridiculous, I just wanted to vent.
I swear! I can never find my thread in this list...
Anyway, so you want to hear more about my weird phase? Check this out--I have big knockers (praying they shrink but stay in the current proportion) and I have been doing lots of upper body toning by doing pushups against the wall and using one of those sproingy band do-dads with a handle on each end--totally love it. But yesterday after I'd worked out and I was getting into my jammies I noticed that I am getting PECTORAL definition in my cleavage! What the @#$%&?! Seriously!
I was wearing a tank top and I ran out to the other room to show my hubby: I hunched over just a little and started flexing and my bobbers jumped up and down, up and down. That's just about the funniest thing I've ever seen!
But really, while it's fun to see new muscles every day, I would really like to see the scale move. Obviously I'm losing fat--I can see it everywhere--but I'm gaining muscle at the same rate. When am I going to break through this holding pattern?? Am I going to stay between 228 and 230 the whole way and have to go into professional body building?? Jeez, lets go already.
I'm sure I'm being ridiculous, I just wanted to vent.
Alright. I am officially frustrated. It may be PMS, I'll get that out there right away, but this is the end of my third week of no weight change. Yes, I'm seeing changes in the mirror, but damnit! I'm working hard and I'm building up a little bit of an entitlement complex here! I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, now it's that damn scale's turn to get going!
And yesterday's workout was SO tough, I could hardly get through it. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. The workout is normally challenging, but not a beatdown by any means, so I was really confused about why it felt like trying to hike through molasses. Ugh!
And THEN I've been PEEING like a crazy person since last night. I had to get out of bed THREE times--WTF?! Once is normal for me, twice is annoying, but three times and my sleep is wrecked. Tonight instead of working out I'm going to go spend money. Is that worse than chocolate cake?
And yesterday's workout was SO tough, I could hardly get through it. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. The workout is normally challenging, but not a beatdown by any means, so I was really confused about why it felt like trying to hike through molasses. Ugh!
And THEN I've been PEEING like a crazy person since last night. I had to get out of bed THREE times--WTF?! Once is normal for me, twice is annoying, but three times and my sleep is wrecked. Tonight instead of working out I'm going to go spend money. Is that worse than chocolate cake?
lovingep
New member
It sounds like you're doing well to me!
It's good to have someone who identifies with me as far as the eating habits go. I don't know why I like sweets so much. My sister thinks it's because my mom makes them so well.
I hope you're having a great day and will have a good weekend!
It's good to have someone who identifies with me as far as the eating habits go. I don't know why I like sweets so much. My sister thinks it's because my mom makes them so well.
I hope you're having a great day and will have a good weekend!
Jessafurr
New member
Hi Riotgrrl! My name is Jessa. It sounds like you're doing great! With all your hard work the pounds will start coming off soon!! Make sure you're drinking enough water.. it with help flush away the fat! Do you use fitday.com for your food journal? If you don't you should check it out-- its free and its awesome.
Have a great day!!!!
Have a great day!!!!
Hey thanks guys!
Yeah, I did check out Fit Day, and compared to my hand-written worksheet printouts, the site just seems super complicated. It seems like nothing I eat is in the list so it would all have to be modified and I frankly don't have the energy. Plus I don't use the computer every day at home. After sitting glued to one at work all day, it's pretty much the last thing I want to look at, y'know?
This weekend I went out of town and I did not do so hot. For one, our destination was Ely, MN where the temp hovered right around -20F so we were indoors laying around. I worked out on the treadmill one day, but I skipped Friday to run errands and pack, then I skipped Saturday and Moday from the long drives. Throw in lots of extra snacks that for some reason I was powerless to refuse, which just proves that if I have it in the house I WILL eat it. And I have my period. And I barely slept last night. In general I feel like poop. I just want to go home, work out, eat something healthy, and go to bed EARLY.
I've never tried to go on vacation while on a weight reduction program, and I'm surprised at how off track I got! Wow, I hope I can get my program back together and I'm praying those extra calories from the weekend don't catch me!
Yeah, I did check out Fit Day, and compared to my hand-written worksheet printouts, the site just seems super complicated. It seems like nothing I eat is in the list so it would all have to be modified and I frankly don't have the energy. Plus I don't use the computer every day at home. After sitting glued to one at work all day, it's pretty much the last thing I want to look at, y'know?
This weekend I went out of town and I did not do so hot. For one, our destination was Ely, MN where the temp hovered right around -20F so we were indoors laying around. I worked out on the treadmill one day, but I skipped Friday to run errands and pack, then I skipped Saturday and Moday from the long drives. Throw in lots of extra snacks that for some reason I was powerless to refuse, which just proves that if I have it in the house I WILL eat it. And I have my period. And I barely slept last night. In general I feel like poop. I just want to go home, work out, eat something healthy, and go to bed EARLY.
I've never tried to go on vacation while on a weight reduction program, and I'm surprised at how off track I got! Wow, I hope I can get my program back together and I'm praying those extra calories from the weekend don't catch me!
SOOoooo TIIiiiiired
Hubby volunteered me for dinner with the inlaws tonight so I had to get up at twenty after 5 this morning to work out. I already took too many days off from exercising and I couldn't justify one more. But I did it-- I couldn't freakin believe it. I can NEVER get up early and exercise, I have idea what posessed me so I doubt I'll be able to duplicate that one, I'm just glad I pulled it off today. You shoulda seen me all puffy-eyed and bed-headed yawning through my balance ball crunches. I was so tired I don't even know if I got a good workout. Tomorrow I'm back to my usual after work routine so I'll bust it out then. For now is time to sleep, I'm totally beat!
Hubby volunteered me for dinner with the inlaws tonight so I had to get up at twenty after 5 this morning to work out. I already took too many days off from exercising and I couldn't justify one more. But I did it-- I couldn't freakin believe it. I can NEVER get up early and exercise, I have idea what posessed me so I doubt I'll be able to duplicate that one, I'm just glad I pulled it off today. You shoulda seen me all puffy-eyed and bed-headed yawning through my balance ball crunches. I was so tired I don't even know if I got a good workout. Tomorrow I'm back to my usual after work routine so I'll bust it out then. For now is time to sleep, I'm totally beat!
DAMN IT DAMN IT damn damn damn!!!!
Foiled again by that god-forsaken SCALE!
WHat is it going to take?? I have been working my ASS OFF working out nearly every day and eating right. This is all I get? 16 or 17 pounds lost? NO change now for FOUR weeks! WTF?! Hubby insists it's because I'm gaining muscle, but I'm not even seeing any significant changes in the mirror anymore since about a week and a half ago, and the damned tape measurer hasn't budged either!
THIS is why I get give up all the time, and this is why I feel like I'll never lose this 100 extra pounds!!! I can't even lose 20! On this end of things it looks like I'll have to work out at the level of an Olympic gold medalist before this f#$%ing scale is going to move!
If this is a plateau, how the frig did I manage to hit one ALREADY??? This is so F*ed. In my experience, I am either slowly and steadily gaining weight or am trying with all my might to lose and just end up maintaining. DO I need to just starve myself?? No, no way in hell. Is it really necessary to spend hours a day working out? There goes all my free time! F! F! F! F!
Foiled again by that god-forsaken SCALE!
WHat is it going to take?? I have been working my ASS OFF working out nearly every day and eating right. This is all I get? 16 or 17 pounds lost? NO change now for FOUR weeks! WTF?! Hubby insists it's because I'm gaining muscle, but I'm not even seeing any significant changes in the mirror anymore since about a week and a half ago, and the damned tape measurer hasn't budged either!
THIS is why I get give up all the time, and this is why I feel like I'll never lose this 100 extra pounds!!! I can't even lose 20! On this end of things it looks like I'll have to work out at the level of an Olympic gold medalist before this f#$%ing scale is going to move!
If this is a plateau, how the frig did I manage to hit one ALREADY??? This is so F*ed. In my experience, I am either slowly and steadily gaining weight or am trying with all my might to lose and just end up maintaining. DO I need to just starve myself?? No, no way in hell. Is it really necessary to spend hours a day working out? There goes all my free time! F! F! F! F!
Just do it...
Being the stubborn b!@#$ that I am I have decided that I will NOT succumb to scale-defeat again. I thought really hard about it and came up with some things that could be going on:
a) I just finished my period, maybe my water weight is bouncing around
b) This could be a visit from the ghost of calories of the weekend past (5 peanut butter cookies, six chocolate candy do-dads, corn chips, three days of three big meals, one can of soda, and three missed workouts)
c) I haven't been drinking as much water this week as I usually do to try to flush out all the burned off fat--I don't even know if that would be an issue. Frankly I was getting really tired of always having to pee and my sleep was suffering.
If it's none of these things, I'm just at a loss--or NO loss as it would be. Grrr. This process is utterly ridiculous.
As it is right now I eat only what I need to eat: 5 servings of carbs/grains, 1.5 cups of veggies (I almost always have more because the calories are negligible and they're good for me), 1.5 cups fruit (I often end up having just one), 2 cups dairy (I stick ok to this one), 4 ounces of beans/meat/nuts (I average six because any less and I get muscle cramps and I'm crabby).
So what on earth would I cut back on? I opted not to have gastric band surgery because I didn't want to starve my system: people average about 900 calories a day and their f*ing hair falls out and they have to take an a$$load of expensive supplements.
*SIGH*
Being the stubborn b!@#$ that I am I have decided that I will NOT succumb to scale-defeat again. I thought really hard about it and came up with some things that could be going on:
a) I just finished my period, maybe my water weight is bouncing around
b) This could be a visit from the ghost of calories of the weekend past (5 peanut butter cookies, six chocolate candy do-dads, corn chips, three days of three big meals, one can of soda, and three missed workouts)
c) I haven't been drinking as much water this week as I usually do to try to flush out all the burned off fat--I don't even know if that would be an issue. Frankly I was getting really tired of always having to pee and my sleep was suffering.
If it's none of these things, I'm just at a loss--or NO loss as it would be. Grrr. This process is utterly ridiculous.
As it is right now I eat only what I need to eat: 5 servings of carbs/grains, 1.5 cups of veggies (I almost always have more because the calories are negligible and they're good for me), 1.5 cups fruit (I often end up having just one), 2 cups dairy (I stick ok to this one), 4 ounces of beans/meat/nuts (I average six because any less and I get muscle cramps and I'm crabby).
So what on earth would I cut back on? I opted not to have gastric band surgery because I didn't want to starve my system: people average about 900 calories a day and their f*ing hair falls out and they have to take an a$$load of expensive supplements.
*SIGH*
I Think I'll Live
Ok, I think I'm over myself now. I worked out yesterday and today like normal but I pushed myself a smidge more. I'm still bothered by only losing 1.4lb for this whole month because that just sucks. I need to do some research to see if it's reasonable that I could have gained six pounds of muscle and burned seven and a half pounds of fat. It doesn't seem unrealistic, but I know next to nothing about what a body does when it is processing muscle growth and fat elimination. The only thing I know about that is I pee a lot.
Ok, I think I'm over myself now. I worked out yesterday and today like normal but I pushed myself a smidge more. I'm still bothered by only losing 1.4lb for this whole month because that just sucks. I need to do some research to see if it's reasonable that I could have gained six pounds of muscle and burned seven and a half pounds of fat. It doesn't seem unrealistic, but I know next to nothing about what a body does when it is processing muscle growth and fat elimination. The only thing I know about that is I pee a lot.
![[Focus]1](https://www.fitness.com/forum/data/avatars/m/1207/1207022.jpg?1452890744){kind=avatar}
[Focus]1
New member
If you had gained 6 lbs of muscle and lost 7 in one month, I'm very certain you'd know about it, unless you're extremely deluded. It's harder to tell when you're carrying a significant amount of extra weight, but still, that's a lot. Your measurements at the very least should've seen an inch or two decreasing pretty well everywhere.
I read your thread, but I'm still not terribly clear on what exactly you're doing in terms of diet and nutrition. Rather than make you type it all up here and then make me type up all sorts of junk, I'll say 3 things:
1) Not all calories are equal
2) In order to lose fat you must create a calorie deficit
3) Fat loss is not always linear
Now, having said those things, I feel the need to explain to you that at 100 lbs over your ideal weight, even if you are gaining muscle at a prodigious "beginner grace period" rate, you should still be seeing consistent results on your weigh-ins, if you're doing everything right.
Read this thread, and follow links. If you feel like you already know all that junk, skip down to the Fat Loss Troubleshoot link. If you can't find anything applicable in there, well, then I'm gonna ask you to break it down in detail. I'm pretty certain you're doing something wrong. Almost anyone with a hundred lbs to lose should be able to drop it like horses make dookie when first starting out.
To give you an example, when I was at 280 and I decided to lose weight, I lost 60 lbs or so over 3.5 months at one point, and I was actually trying to slow down after the first month.
I read your thread, but I'm still not terribly clear on what exactly you're doing in terms of diet and nutrition. Rather than make you type it all up here and then make me type up all sorts of junk, I'll say 3 things:
1) Not all calories are equal
2) In order to lose fat you must create a calorie deficit
3) Fat loss is not always linear
Now, having said those things, I feel the need to explain to you that at 100 lbs over your ideal weight, even if you are gaining muscle at a prodigious "beginner grace period" rate, you should still be seeing consistent results on your weigh-ins, if you're doing everything right.
Read this thread, and follow links. If you feel like you already know all that junk, skip down to the Fat Loss Troubleshoot link. If you can't find anything applicable in there, well, then I'm gonna ask you to break it down in detail. I'm pretty certain you're doing something wrong. Almost anyone with a hundred lbs to lose should be able to drop it like horses make dookie when first starting out.
To give you an example, when I was at 280 and I decided to lose weight, I lost 60 lbs or so over 3.5 months at one point, and I was actually trying to slow down after the first month.
Deluded? No. Moody? Yes, definitely.
I absolutely agree with all you said. And I was dropping pounds like mad the first month. Here is what I think happened. First and foremost I started gaining muscle early in the month. Then I had a week where I missed several workouts and ate more. On the tail end of that, I got my period and took on some extra water. Then to top it all off I had run out of my thyroid medicine all week and I felt really sluggish.
Once my bloating diminished I did finally see about an inch loss across both the tummy minora and tummy majora. Thank heavens for that. Now this morning the scale got the memo too. 226.8!!
I was just having a freak out, and now I know what to expect for my next period. But no more running out of thyroid, and no more eating peanut butter cookies and chocolate candies on trips away from home!
I absolutely agree with all you said. And I was dropping pounds like mad the first month. Here is what I think happened. First and foremost I started gaining muscle early in the month. Then I had a week where I missed several workouts and ate more. On the tail end of that, I got my period and took on some extra water. Then to top it all off I had run out of my thyroid medicine all week and I felt really sluggish.
Once my bloating diminished I did finally see about an inch loss across both the tummy minora and tummy majora. Thank heavens for that. Now this morning the scale got the memo too. 226.8!!
I was just having a freak out, and now I know what to expect for my next period. But no more running out of thyroid, and no more eating peanut butter cookies and chocolate candies on trips away from home!
Ass-kicking Intervals
I've been reading a lot about intervals being great for getting out from under a plateau or just generally increasing endurance. I thought I'd try it out....
There's this hill about a mile away from me that is about three blocks long and really steep. I mean steep like freaking San Francisco. Half way down this hill is an outlet of a tiny little road that has tucked-away prissy-pants hillside homes. At this outlet is a staircase that kind of shortcuts up the side of the hill to another neighborhood. Very tall staircase, like 4 flights maybe.
I dragged Hubby out of the house with me and for thirty minutes we went halfway down the hill to the stairs, half way up the stairs, back down, back up the hill, and repeat. I figured this would be a decent workout but it really kicked my ass--literally my ass. My buns are sore and it didn't even feel like much at the time.
I can't wait till spring and I can do it whenever I want! Today was a 30 degree fluke and from here it's going to plummet back down below zero. Which means more neighbor-annoying apartment hallway wooden stair (creeak-crik-squeak-groan) climbing for me. They must think I'm cuckoo.
I've been reading a lot about intervals being great for getting out from under a plateau or just generally increasing endurance. I thought I'd try it out....
There's this hill about a mile away from me that is about three blocks long and really steep. I mean steep like freaking San Francisco. Half way down this hill is an outlet of a tiny little road that has tucked-away prissy-pants hillside homes. At this outlet is a staircase that kind of shortcuts up the side of the hill to another neighborhood. Very tall staircase, like 4 flights maybe.
I dragged Hubby out of the house with me and for thirty minutes we went halfway down the hill to the stairs, half way up the stairs, back down, back up the hill, and repeat. I figured this would be a decent workout but it really kicked my ass--literally my ass. My buns are sore and it didn't even feel like much at the time.
I can't wait till spring and I can do it whenever I want! Today was a 30 degree fluke and from here it's going to plummet back down below zero. Which means more neighbor-annoying apartment hallway wooden stair (creeak-crik-squeak-groan) climbing for me. They must think I'm cuckoo.